To Stay
by Transformersfan123
Summary: Sequel to Moving On. Sam's made his decision. He's going to stay with the Autobots and take his chances. He is still hiding his own secrets from those he calls friends, afraid of the judgement of those who aren't. And as time passes, will the aquisition of the abilities Primus promised drive Sam crazy or will he finally fully trust those who have kept him safe and sane thus far?


Here is the sequel. Let me just say there was NO competition on the decision. It was a vast majority that wanted him to stay. I think I only got six or seven votes for him to go. I enjoyed writing this one.

Suggestions on the abilities that he gets later on are welcome and highly encouraged. And suggestions on what may happen with the cutting and with a certain glitch that's been giving Sam a hard time are also welcome. Enjoy!

* * *

Sam walked out of the shelter of the trees, hesitated for a moment, and glanced back at Primus, who smiled encouragingly. The boy took a deep breath and headed for the rubble that was the base. He was halfway there when First Aid, who was tending to Sunstreaker's diced up arm, looked up and saw him.

"Sam you're alright!" First Aid yelled, causing the mechs digging through the rubble to stop and look up at him.

"Sammy!" Bumblebee crowed, hurrying over to scoop up his charge; Sam noticed energon leaking out of his wrist, making it look like the mech had cut himself.

"I'm fine, Bee," Sam assured him.

"You've got to stop scaring me like that," Bumblebee said, sounding breathless and frightened.

"What was that, anyways?" Sideswipe asked.

"Earthquake," Ironhide rumbled.

"But we're nowhere near a fault line," Ratchet said slowly as he moved to scan Sam.

"So?" First Aid asked.

"So it shouldn't have happened," Optimus replied.

"What could have caused it?" Bumblebee asked thoughtfully.

"Why don't you ask the human? It is his planet. Oh wait, the human's too stupid to know, right?" Prowl asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact, this human does know! It was Cybertronian in origin!" Sam spat, glaring at Prowl.

Prowl gave a barking laugh. "Really? And how is that? Did Primus decide to shake things up?"

"No, Primus isn't the earth mech. He's the water mech. It was Unicron that caused the earthquake," Sam said angrily.

There was silence as they all stared at him. Even Prowl had no comment. Optimus moved to Sam's eye level, his optics confused.

"What do you mean by water mech and earth mech?" he asked gently.

With everybody staring at him, Sam's face warmed and he crossed his arms and looked away, suddenly regretting saying anything. They were probably just going to laugh it off, just like Bumblebee had.

Bumblebee suddenly spoke. "That dream you mentioned before…it wasn't really a dream, was it?"

"What dream?" Optimus asked, straightening up.

"He mentioned a water mech to me before," Bumblebee said slowly. "Back when Prowl and the others had just gotten here. He said it was a dream."

"I thought it was," Sam admitted quietly. "But it wasn't."

"Any particular reason the Chaos Bringer caused the earthquake?" Ironhide asked.

"You mean Unicron?" Sam asked and Ironhide nodded. "Why not say it then?"

"It is said that it brings his wrath if you say his name too much."

"I'd believe that," Sam said with a nod. "He's got quite the temper. Especially if things don't go his way."

"Well?" Prowl asked darkly. "The earthquake?"

"Oh. I…kinda told him…no," Sam mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No? What did he ask?" Bumblebee asked, sounding alarmed.

"He told me to choose between him and Primus. I told him that I would never choose him."

"So you chose Primus?" Optimus asked.

"No. I just told Unicron no. I didn't choose Primus."

"Maybe not directly, young one, but indirectly, you did," that warm, kind voice said as said mech appeared, drawing water from the earth to form himself.

Every mech there cried out and dropped to their knees. Sam was jolted by the sudden movement and yelped, attempting to jump down. Primus caught him and chuckled.

"They always do that. Even Decepticons do it," he said with a smile.

"With all due respect, sir," Prowl said suddenly. "Why _him_?"

Primus looked at Prowl and his smile softened. "Because he is a very special individual. Just like you."

Prowl's optics turned purple then he turned away and crossed his arms, not looking at anybody. Sam shrugged it off and looked back up at Primus. This time, the water was colored a nice silver, with black and red Cybertronian symbols decorating the frame. Sam found it fit the mech.

"So what does it mean that he indirectly chose you?" Ironhide asked, his voice, for once, meek.

Primus smiled at the usually feisty mech. "It means that the changes I have planned for him will take hold slowly. They will happen, but much, much more slowly than if he decides to choose me directly."

"Can he still do so?" Optimus asked.

"Anytime he wishes," Primus said happily. "But I shan't force him and I don't want any of you to try and force him either. It is his choice and his choice alone."

"Yes Primus," they all chorused, save Prowl who had walked away and was sitting sullenly by himself.

"Good. Now, I want you all to be understanding of him and protect him from Unicron's attacks when I'm not around. Because he will attack you."

Optimus stood, forcing back a wave of shyness, which was unusual for him. "But Primus, how are we to fight a god?"

"I am so glad you asked," Primus said, a gleam in his optics.

He raised his hand and tendrils of light arched off of him and wrapped around each mech. Electricity surged across them, making all of the Autobots jerk and spasm. Sam watched with wide eyes while they were reformatted right in front of him.

When they were done, they looked the same, but Sam could feel the power coming off of each of them. Sunstreaker was looking his body up and down for scratches on his paint, but it actually looked like each of them got a new paint job to go along with the upgrades.

Sam felt more than saw Primus disappear and dropped to the ground, glad he had been expecting it. Primus was over talking to Prowl while Optimus and others tried to get a grip on their new abilities. Sam pretty much ignored them. His decision to stay was weighing on his mind. His friends, no, his _family_ was going to be attacked by a madmech. How could he live with himself?

"Sam, what's the matter?" Bumblebee's hologram of himself asked, appearing beside him.

"I decided to stay," Sam said quietly. "I thought about leaving, but I just couldn't. You guys have understood everything so far, so I figured you'd understand…this Unicron and Primus thing."

"So what's wrong?"

"I'm putting you all in danger! That's what!" Sam snapped. "That maniac got mad enough and an _earthquake_ happened! It destroyed the base. We have to rebuild! Not to mention half of you are still wounded!"

Bumblebee's optics were kind. "Sam, we have been at war for millennia. We have been through situations like this before. Not completely like this, mind you, but similar. We can…probably handle this."

"Probably?" Sam asked dryly.

"Well, we've never fought the Chaos Bringer before," Bumblebee said with a shrug.

"I said no!" Prowl suddenly shouted, standing up and outright glaring at Primus.

Primus didn't look upset. He just looked a little sad. "Prowl, please," he said softly, following Prowl as he walked back over to the other mechs.

"No," Prowl spat. "Now leave me alone."

"As you wish," Primus said gently then the outline and colors disappeared and the water splashed to the ground and spread over the dirt.

"What was that about?" Sunstreaker asked. "I mean, you _yelled _at _Primus_!"

"Drop it," Prowl snarled and turned to go and sit where he had been before.

"Well, we had better start cleaning up this mess," Optimus said. "We're going to need you with truck forms to haul most of this to the dump. It's all unsalvageable."

"We're also going to need the humans."

Sam groaned inwardly, but kept his face still. This wasn't going to be fun.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The way they were staring at him was disconcerting. He could feel the weight of their pity, too. It made him angry, but he didn't move from his perch on Bumblebee's shoulder. He had managed to dig his backpack out of the rubble and had snuck away to put on fresh makeup. Ironhide was the most displeased about it, but he understood why Sam felt like he had to do it, so he didn't say anything. The boy was also wearing a hooded jacket. He, of course, also had the hood up. It was William's wife that called him down.

Without thinking, he jumped down into Bumblebee's hands then down to the ground. She started when she saw his face and the gothic makeup that stained it and looked like she had changed her mind.

"Yeah?" he asked, hands jammed in his pockets.

"I…I, well," she stuttered, obviously disconcerted.

Sam sighed. "I'm not going to bite. Just say what you want."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Sam almost winced. Almost. "About?"

"About what happened to you."

All movement froze, human and Autobot alike. Sam tensed and looked away from her.

"Thanks," he finally ground out. "But that doesn't change anything."

"I know," she said gently, then hugged him.

Sam, who was only used to affection from the Autobots, was at a loss on what to do. He just stood there until she released him. He heard Bumblebee make a noise that meant he thought it was cute, and Sam turned his face up to glare at him.

"Shut it, Bee," he growled.

"I'm sorry Sam, but I can't help it," Bumblebee said fondly. "It is…nice, to see somebody _human_ care about you."

Sam then said something out loud that he probably shouldn't have. "I don't want any humans to care about me."

There was more silence at that, but Sam really couldn't care less. It was the truth, even though it probably hurt. Humans had done nothing but hurt him all his life. Why should they be any different now?

"Sam," Bumblebee sighed, kneeling down to lift him up again.

"I don't care what they think. It's the truth," Sam said matter-of-factly.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" William asked.

"Maybe, but if all _you_ received was pain from your own species, how would you feel about it?" Sam asked.

There was no reply, and Sam let his case rest. He could still feel their gazes on him, filled with pity and he knew they were wishing they could help. _I'm beyond help_, he thought bitterly. He brought his mind back to the hidden cutting he'd been doing. He would tell the Autobots. Eventually.


End file.
